Love Language
(Gif credit to @wyattsjohnston)
word count: 3,214
genres: strangers to friends to lovers, fluff, self-insert
A/N: This story and the title comes from the concept of the 5 Love Languages. It’s not based off of any song or movie, it’s just something random I came up with. I originally wanted to use a different player for this story but after going through some rough writers block, I ended up choosing Wyatt as an alternative option. It’s not set at a specific moment in time (It’s taking place in a fictional future but you could also say that it’s set during this ongoing season or even a past season). It’s written with a female reader in mind because I’m a female of color but the reader doesn’t specifically have to be a POC or a woman and there’s little dialogue. As always, I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you so much in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌
(P.S. I have other stories (linked here) that I have written for other players as well if you want to check those out
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“Just let your heart speak up, and I’ll know.” -mother tongue by Bring Me The Horizon
Prologue
You met Wyatt while working as a traveling private chef in the Dallas area. You had catered a brunch for a Texas Rangers’ WAG baby shower and the mother-to-be was so impressed by your skills that she recommended you to cook for her friends. You were eventually hired by a Stars WAG to cook a small dinner for the team and some of their significant others to kickoff the upcoming season. While you were setting up the food you prepared, one of the players teased that someone named Wyatt should take cooking lessons from you. Taking the joke more seriously, Wyatt approached you before you left to ask if you could teach him some more cooking skills. You had casually given cooking advice before but had never taught someone one-on-one. It was something new so you agreed to do it. Wyatt offered to pay for the groceries for the recipes you wanted to teach him but you respectfully declined and agreed to cover that cost yourself for the first lesson. You exchanged contact information and settled on an upcoming off-day for the cooking lesson.
————————————————————Acts of Service
About a week had passed since that dinner and soon it was time for Wyatt to come over to cook with you. For your first lesson, you would teach him how to make a simple steak with a side of mashed sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus for lunch. This meal was specifically requested by Wyatt because it was something he liked that the team chefs prepared. You were a little nervous to teach him what you knew but you used the guidance from the instructors who taught you to help you as a newfound teacher. You were also nervous to have Wyatt over because he was probably used to going to glamorous places and your apartment was on a much more humble level.
Before you knew it, Wyatt had arrived on time. His demeanor was excited but laid back. You calmly greeted him and the two of you washed your hands before beginning to cook. You explained to Wyatt the order in which you were going to cook each component of the meal, starting with the mashed sweet potatoes.
While peeling the sweet potatoes, Wyatt accidentally nicked his finger; not enough to make it bleed, but enough to make it hurt and he said a word you didn’t recognize in response. You asked him what he said and he shyly confessed that it was a curse word in French; the only French you knew was limited to the words that related to cooking. Wyatt was embarrassed to curse in front of you; he kept his foul language to a minimum when away from his teammates or friends, but it didn’t bother you that much. In fact, you were fascinated by the fact that Wyatt knew another language other than English. You began to ask Wyatt how to say different things around the kitchen in French while the two of you continued to prepare the meal; he tried his best from what he remembered and had to use Google Translate a few times to figure out certain words.
Throughout the lesson, you explained to Wyatt the importance of different steps, like how much liquid to put in the mashed sweet potatoes to get the right texture, how much time to cook the steak in the pan to achieve a certain level of doneness, and what temperature to roast the asparagus. You also answered whatever cooking questions Wyatt had. After everything was completed, it was time to eat. Over your meal, you and Wyatt learned more about each other; you were both curious about how you ended up where you are at this moment. You asked each other questions back and forth and spoke on a variety of topics, ranging from childhood stories to TV shows to music genres.
After the meal concluded, Wyatt helped you out by washing the dishes that were created. This small gesture turned into a habit that every time you cooked together, he would always help with the dishes. Before leaving, the two of you came to a mutual agreement that Wyatt would teach you French in exchange for your cooking lessons. Your lessons continued whenever Wyatt had time off to meet and you did not have to cook for a client. From time to time, he would also text you a recipe he found online and ask if you could cook that item together. As a way to learn more and to spend more time with you, Wyatt began to stay longer after the lessons to help you prepare for your other clients or just for your own meals at home.
————————————————————Gift Giving
One afternoon, your beloved KitchenAid stand mixer suddenly stopped working so you had to cancel your baking lesson with Wyatt until you got a new one. To your surprise, he still came over to your apartment and when you opened the door, he was carrying a large box. In Wyatt’s arms was a brand new KitchenAid stand mixer that matched the previous color you had and a bag with every extra mixer attachment, even ones that you didn’t have before. You were shocked because you thought he was just coming over to help you prep. Wyatt knew that you didn’t indicate or ask him to make such a purchase, but he did it out of the kindness of his heart.
“Hey Y/N, can you say the magic words so I can put this down?” Wyatt playfully asked.
The magic words were an inside joke between the two of you that you had to greet Wyatt in French before he would enter your apartment.
You greeted and thanked Wyatt for the mixer in French. Since you suddenly had a mixer, you taught him how to bake banana chocolate chip cookies from scratch. You tried to let Wyatt get some of his money back by returning some of the attachments he purchased, but he insisted that you get rid of your old ones and keep the ones he got for you.
After Wyatt left, you began to suspect that he may have a crush on you but you weren’t 100% certain. You did have some romantic feelings towards Wyatt but kept things professional with him and your status with him was limited to a friendship. You kept those emotions hidden, just to protect yourself from getting hurt, since Wyatt was a world-class athlete who could have anyone he wanted and you were just a private chef who lived a simple life in a simple apartment. For all you know, Wyatt could have been cooking the meals you taught him to impress a potential suitor.
While deep in thought, you went into the kitchen to grab one of the cookies you made together as a snack and noticed there was a grocery store gift card with the amount of $150 scribbled on it lying on your counter. Again, you were shocked.
Wyatt would occasionally go grocery shopping with you to learn how to pick good-quality, fresh ingredients to cook with. These rare grocery store trips together would always end with Wyatt graciously footing the bill as a way to pay you back for the cooking lessons, so the gift card wasn’t that necessary, but you appreciated the extra gift.
————————————————————Physical Touch
Since you had spent so much time showing him part of your world through cooking, Wyatt wanted to show you part of his world through hockey by taking you to one of the local skating rinks to teach you how to ice skate. He did invite you to his games and you only attended one game, but did show curiosity about certain hockey things. Wyatt also used the skating lesson to test you on your French in a fun way by giving you a majority of the skating instructions in French. It was a silly thing to do that would have been very frustrating in any other circumstance, but you couldn’t be that annoyed with Wyatt and resist his charming demeanor.
At the rink, Wyatt greeted you with a hug, helped you with your skates, and he slipped his hand into yours while guiding you on the ice. Your heart began to race throughout your time together but looking at Wyatt oddly helped you feel calm. You did struggle frequently with your balance but Wyatt was right there to help keep you steady and even caught you a few times. Logically, it would make sense for you to eventually let Wyatt go so you could try to skate freely. However, neither of you wanted to break that contact so the two of you skated around the sheet of ice holding onto each other.
To change things up, Wyatt switched to speaking in English and asked the rink staff to borrow a net and some pucks while you waited for him on a team bench. Using a hockey stick that he randomly left in his car, Wyatt was going to show you some hockey tricks. It was one of the few things that he was good at (besides making you swoon over his consistent kindness towards you). Like a golfer showing someone how to properly swing a golf club for the first time, Wyatt stood closely behind you to show you how to shoot a puck into a net to hit the crossbar, how to pick up and bounce a puck using a stick, and how to shoot one-timers. He would frequently put his hand on top of yours to help you move the stick in the right direction and you could feel his body heat radiating warmth onto you inside the cold rink. Wyatt did his best to teach you to become an impromptu hockey player, but these things were something easier said than done for you and you both still had lots of fun.
————————————————————Quality Time
Despite teaching you hockey skills, Wyatt ended up going through a point drought. No matter how hard he tried, Wyatt couldn’t get himself on the game stat sheet. He even began calling you after his games to vent to you about it. Usually to distress, he would go play rounds at the golf course or distract his thoughts by watching some show on Netflix, but these things weren’t quieting those thoughts this time. You could tell that these playing woes were weighing heavily on Wyatt, so you convinced him to spend some time together out of his apartment to help get him out of his funk about his play. Due to the regular season ending and increased pressure of being in the playoffs, your lessons with Wyatt had naturally decreased so you hadn’t seen each other in about a month.
On an off-day between playoff rounds, the two of you ended up meeting at a La La Land Kind Cafe to get coffee. Wyatt was approached by a few fans in the cafe; he began to feel anxious because he knew that he wasn’t playing well and he was worried that someone was going to bring it up. Thankfully, the fans were respectful and did not make any comments about his play; they just wanted pictures and an autograph. Some fans even wished Wyatt good luck for his upcoming games.
After getting your drinks, you drove over to The Arboretum and walked together around the beautiful garden and White Rock Lake to get some fresh air. The fresh air did some good for Wyatt and he started to feel better. Just as before, a few nice fans approached Wyatt while you were walking around and he took photos with them. He was very grateful that you were here with him because he missed seeing you and he appreciated your patience with the interruptions that came with this time you had together.
While walking, you noticed that some storm clouds were rolling in and those storm clouds ended up causing a downpour with loud thunder and lightning strikes. You and Wyatt rushed over to seek shelter in your car. When you started to drive away, you heard a loud pop that indicated that one of your car tires had blown out. Unfortunately, due to the weather, it was going to be very difficult to change the tire. Luckily, Wyatt’s Bronco was nearby so he offered to take you home and he would pick you up the next day to take you to get your car back. On the drive to your apartment, traffic was horrible and the rain continued to pour heavily. Wyatt proposed a change to the plan by having you come over to his place until the rain let up. You were taken aback by his invitation because you had never been over to his apartment before; however, you accepted the offer. Wyatt was secretly ecstatic that you said yes because he always enjoyed his time with you and wanted to spend more time together.
Wyatt’s apartment was absolutely stunning. It definitely was not the “frat boy millionaire with little to no decorations on the wall” place you were expecting. Wyatt wanted to wash away the grime of the rain off of him and assumed that you wanted to do the same. He offered you one of his clean team-issued practice t-shirts, sweatpants, and socks to change into. Wyatt was right that you wanted to feel less gross so you went and showered in his luxurious guest bathroom. You emerged from the bathroom and Wyatt tried his best to stifle a laugh because it looked like you were drowning in the clothes he let you borrow. You playfully rolled your eyes at him before discussing about what to eat. The rain was still pouring down so it wasn’t a wise decision to order in. Wyatt had a medley of ingredients in his fridge so he ended up making his own version of fried rice for the two of you to eat.
“Do you need a sous chef?”, you asked.
“No, I think I got this on my own.”, Wyatt responded with a wink.
You observed Wyatt while he cooked and felt a sense of proudness in your heart, watching him do his thing. The two of you settled in to watch a movie on Netflix and enjoyed the delicious dinner Wyatt prepared. The movie was interesting, but you ended up falling asleep on the couch. Wyatt looked over and saw that you had drifted off to sleep so he draped a blanket over you and told you good night.
The next morning, you awoke to the sunlight letting you know it was a beautiful sunny day. On your way to the bathroom, you saw Wyatt in the kitchen, attempting to make breakfast. You could tell something was wrong because he let out a deeply annoyed sigh and went to check to see what was going on. You exchanged Good Mornings in French with each other before Wyatt explained that the French toast was coming out too soggy. You realized that the sandwich bread he was using was too thin for the recipe he tried to follow; you appreciated his well-intentioned gesture and suggested that the two of you grab breakfast instead. Waiting for you on the counter in the guest bathroom were the clothes you had on the day before; Wyatt washed and neatly folded them for you.
Keeping his promise to you, Wyatt drove you back to get your car. Thankfully, your car was unharmed by the storm from the previous day and Wyatt changed the flat tire for you, even though you knew how to do so. He even followed you to Jiffy Lube so that you could get a new tire before leaving you for a team meeting. Although things did not go as planned, you still had a good time with Wyatt and he did too.
Once you arrived back at your apartment, you were about to text Wyatt to tell him you made it back home when your phone received a text from him, asking if you arrived home safely.
It was almost like you read my mind, you thought to yourself.
————————————————————Words of Affirmation
Not long after that time together, Wyatt’s play began to improve. Unfortunately, playoffs did not go as well and the Stars' season came to an end without a Stanley Cup in possession. To commemorate the season being over and to also show the cooking skills he learned from you, Wyatt wanted to host a team dinner at his apartment. Since his apartment was not large enough to host everyone he invited, the dinner would be hosted at a clubhouse for apartment residents.
Working side by side, the two of you prepared a 3-course meal that was sure to impress. The menu consisted of a spinach and cheese puff pastry appetizer, grilled chicken kabobs with orzo and Greek salad, and chocolate cake for dessert, all homemade, of course.
A good crowd of Wyatt’s teammates, some bringing along their significant others, showed up, ready to feast. Before the dinner began, Wyatt indicated that he wanted to give a quick speech.
“Thank you everyone for coming to our restaurant tonight. If the food’s not good, blame Y/N. Just kidding. No, seriously, Y/N, I could not have done this without your help and your amazing teaching. Thank you, Y/N, for being so patient with me and for being such a great friend to me. I’m really grateful to have you as a part of my life. Sorry, I got a little sappy there. Let’s dig everyone.” Wyatt said.
The dinner went very well; everyone enjoyed the meal you created together. The table was full of laughter and plenty of smiles were shared. Thomas even playfully joked that Wyatt should just date you because it was obvious that you had good taste, not only in food but in men as well. You and Wyatt both awkwardly laughed; when you looked over at him, you saw a blush creeping in on Wyatt’s face.
After everyone went home for the evening, it was time for you and Wyatt to clean up. You swept the floors while he took the dishes back to his apartment and loaded up the dishwasher. Before you left, Wyatt confessed that he truly meant what he said in his dinner speech about you. It was true that you held a special place in your heart for Wyatt and now you knew that he had a space in his heart for you as well. The two of you stood in the kitchen with a cloud of uncertainty about romantic feelings that lingered over the both of you. Instead of directly addressing those feelings, you gave Wyatt a hug goodnight before some very important words slipped out.
“Je’taime Wyatt”, you said quietly under your breath.
Wyatt was shocked; he had taught you how to say love in French and he heard you say it for other things, but he never taught you how to say that you love another person. He lifted your head up towards him and your eyes were greeted by a set of blue ones that you had been admiring for months. Without hesitation, Wyatt repeated that he loved you too in a language you both recognize before the two of you shared a long-awaited kiss.
